cordeliaknits

woo hoo!

Paper is finally done and sent to professors!  Now I can get down to business--cleaning, knitting and blogging!

FYI-- the basket in the previous post was in the shape of Bodhidharma, one of the founding patriarchs of Zen Buddhism, so it's interesting that Auntie Knickers thought it looked feminine!  Here's a painting of the way he's usually depicted.

That was my favorite of the four baskets I wrote about, mostly because of the gorgeous and complicated irregular plaiting that Celeste mentioned in her comment.

I am so glad to have this paper done, and it might be crap, but I really could care less at this point!  My fall semester is finally over, and though I still have to write my annual report for church and a self-evaluation to get credit for my internship, at least those don't require research on Japanese Aesthetics!!!

More knitting later today.  Thanks for hanging in there with me!

here's the deal

OK, people, I miss you, and I miss blogging, and I'm sorry I'm not more prolific lately.  I have two excuses:

One: I am in the midst of extension hell.  Remember how my Asian art profs gave us all an extension, and I was pissed off about it, but couldn't help but take them up on it anyway?  Yeah, well.  Now it's due.  Have I been diligently writing this paper about bamboo baskets and Japanese aesthetic categories for the last three weeks?  Of course not.  I just started it two days ago, and now I MUST finish it today.  This does not make me happy, but rather filled with stress and guilt, and does not make taking pictures and blogging about gifts given and received very easy.

Two: I am hopelessly in love, as you might have noticed, and my beloved is STILL in Texas with her family.  This means I am pining away, all alone, whining a lot and counting the hours until she returns.  This also is not the best frame of mind for blogging.

So, I apologize.  I promise that as soon as I finish this damn paper (which better be soon!), and get a haircut (tonight!) that I will show you some lovely pictures.  in the meantime, here is a picture of one of the baskets I'm writing about.  How would YOU like to be writing a 15 page paper on this basket, on what is SUPPOSED to be your winter break?  Hmm??

oh, and also...I am afraid I might be coming down with something bad--unless this sinus headache I'm battling is merely a symptom of how sick I am of writing this paper!

big Christmas knitting

Here's a peek at one of the things I was knitting for Christmas.  It took most of November and a bit of December to complete, since I was also writing papers and working and all, but the end result was totally worth it.  (I also had to knit other projects when Les was around so I wouldn't ruin the surprise!)

This is a pirate neck gaiter for Les, to keep her neck warm when she rides her Harley.  It's fair isle, modified from the free We Call Them Pirates hat pattern at Hello Yarn.  I used Rowan Cashcotton, and it took about two and a half balls.

I knit a full lining, so the yarn floats wouldn't get caught on anything, and for extra warmth.  The lining is ribbed at the top and bottom to keep it snug, and in the middle has a secret message in fair isle.

It's a bit tight when stretched over her face, so it pulls at the yarn a bit, but I did the best I could, having to estimate size since it was a gift.  Poor Les is sick with a bad cold in this picture, so that's why she looks so tired.  What a good sport to pose for me, though!  She knows you'all need to see the knitting in its natural habitat.

naughty or nice?

Well, if my Christmas shirt is correct, I must have been pretty darn naughty this year, 'cause I got a whole lotta presents!

Santa Baby was very generous, as she wanted me to have a special Christmas (since it was my first Christmas away from home/family).

I got sparkly ornaments, gift cards, beauty products, cool earrings made with vintage beads, art supplies, practical things, and lots of love.  I'll highlight certain gifts in subsequent posts.

Suffice it to say, while I am very naughty, Les is very very nice!

Merry Christmas!

Hi everyone, Merry Christmas!

It's been a busy several days (as usual), with lots of church functions, meetings and services, and working in the school office a bunch, not to mention getting ready for Christmas!

But now it's over.  We had two services last night, and Gayle, Eun Joo, Les and I went to a lovely Chinese restaurant for dinner between services.  We opened a few presents before dinner, and then when I came home at midnight from my second service, I woke Les up and we had hot cocoa and opened the rest of the presents.

This morning we had zucchini bread and oranges and tea and opened our stockings, and then I drove Les to the airport.  She just got on a plane headed for Texas, where she'll be for a week, and now I'm all alone.

Here's a picture of the stockings I made for us.

As you can see, the stocking for Les is a little strangely shaped, but I was limited by the construction of the sweater I used.   It has a little appliqued travel trailer on it (trust me, it's appropriate for her!), and a beaded tree by her name.  Mine has a flower at the top, and my initials.  Since the sweater I used for mine was so stripy and colorful, I didn't think it needed much more decoration.

Here's how they looked all filled up--even more lumpy!

 

God knocks

Early Saturday morning at the farm, I woke up to the sound of incessant knocking.  I thought someone was at the door, so I stumbled out of bed to go check. 

I checked all the doors, and there was no one there.  Les heard it too, so it wasn't a dream.

But, looking outside I could see how lovely the fog was, so I decided to take some pictures before I went back to bed.

Here are a few for your enjoyment!

  Eventually, Les and I decided that the knocking was God, waking us up so we could take beautiful pictures.

We are seminarians, after all!

Sonoma = Heaven

We just got back from our wine country weekend, and my belief that Sonoma is one of the most beautiful places I've been was reaffirmed.

We stayed at the "farm" of a friend--my boss/pastor's husband.  It is a gorgeous house, with a huge great room, well-appointed kitchen, big windows, comfy furniture, lots of cool art, and amazing views.

I got to cook all weekend, which was totally fun (and tasty!), we watched movies on the huge TV, took walks, and explored downtown Sonoma.

I made pot roast and white chicken chili, and breakfast stuff, of course.  The first morning we were there we went into town for a yummy brunch, and got to sit outside under a heat lamp.

Aren't these multicolored carrots beautiful?  I didn't find out until the roast was done that Les doesn't like cooked carrots, but at least they looked nice, and I got to eat plenty of them (very tasty once cooked, though a little bitter raw).

The whole house is heated with a big wood stove, so we had fun keeping the fire stoked.  I sent Les out for more firewood a few times--look how strong she is!

Of course, I got some good knitting time in, and trashy novel reading, and I even got to take a bath in a big claw-foot tub...it was HEAVENLY! 

I'll post more pictures soon--I was really in love with the trees there, so I got lots of great pictures.

But the best picture I took?

this one.

just a few pages to go...

Hi y'all.  Slacker here.  Actually, not really a slacker in real life--I've been quite busy--but a blogging slacker, to be sure.

Out of the seven papers I had to write, one is not due until January 2 (NOT an extension I asked for, because I HATE extensions!  They are cruel temptations to a major procrastinator!  The profs gave it to everyone, and I had to take advantage of it, against my better judgment.) I have 3-5 more pages to write on one that I will turn in this evening, and then I am DONE!

OK, so yeah, next week I'll be working on that one that's due in January, but all the others will be done and turned in tonight by 6pm or so!  WOO HOO!!

You know what that means, my friends...yup, I'll be knitting and blogging again!

I know you can't wait.  Me neither!  Unfortunately, you'll have to wait for a few days, because Les and I are headed up to Sonoma for the weekend, leaving tonight after the last paper is in.  I promise to knit a lot while we're there, and take lots of pictures for you too, so thank you for your patience, and I'll check in again soon.

hi y'all!

Hey, thanks for the comments even though I just put up pictures!  It has been crazy busy here with finals and advent and parties and decorating...I just couldn't face writing a blog post, but I could take a few minutes to take some pictures.  Glad you enjoyed them.  Today my plan is to go back and write some text for the last two posts, which will be fun, 'cause I can respond to your comments in the same posts!

One week of classes left...four more papers to write.  Tonight is the school Christmas party, tomorrow afternoon I'll spend singing in the choir at an ordination, and Sunday is a very full day at church.  Not sure when these papers are going to get written, but somehow it will happen, because at 5:00 on Thursday I plan to be done with ALL of them!!

the tree is up!